Ahmadinejad: No concessions by Iran over nuclear drive

( dpa ) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday Iran would not make concessions over the country's nuclear drive despite pressure by world powers.

"The Iranian nation will resist the pressure and not withdraw one iota from its (nuclear) rights - if you (the West) believe that Iran would give in to pressure, then you are making a grave mistake," Ahmadinejad said in a speech in the southern Iranian port of Bushehr.

The five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany are currently discussing a draft resolution to impose further sanctions on Iran in the protracted dispute over its nuclear programme.

The Islamic state insists it is enriching uranium for civilian energy needs and denies Western concerns that it wants to develop nuclear weapons.

"All charges in this regard are fabricated and Iran has constantly moved in line with international rules," the president said in his speech carried live by the Khabar news network.

He called the nuclear dispute the "biggest political challenge in Iran's post-revolution (1979) history" and claimed the Islamic state "has mastered this challenge in its favour."

He once again called on Western states to join Iran in building nuclear power plants a part of a consortium but pointed out that if they did not, the country would be capable of doing so by itself.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki had on Monday warned the Security Council over issuing a new resolution against Iran and said this would lead to a "serious reaction" by Tehran.

Mottaki did not say what the reaction would be, but Tehran had warned in the past that in case of a third UN resolution, the country would revise its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Tehran and the UN nuclear watchdog agreed earlier this month to clear up all outstanding questions on Iran's uranium enrichment programme by mid-February and before the next IAEA board of governors' meeting.